The Complete Plays

For the first time, all of Anton Chekhov's drama in English in a single volume.

This stunning new translation presents the only truly complete edition of the playwright who is in the pantheon of the greatest dramatists in history. Anton Chekhov is a unique force in modern drama, his works interpreted and adapted internationally and beloved for their understanding of the humFor the first time, all of Anton Chekhov's drama in English in a single volume.

This stunning new translation presents the only truly complete edition of the playwright who is in the pantheon of the greatest dramatists in history. Anton Chekhov is a unique force in modern drama, his works interpreted and adapted internationally and beloved for their understanding of the human condition and their brilliant wit. This volume contains work that has never previously been translated, including the newly discovered farce The Power of Hypnosis and the first version of Ivanov, as well as Chekhov's early humorous dialogues. No less important, Laurence Senelick, who has staged many of these plays, has freshly translated them to bring into English Chekhov's jokes, the deliberate repetitions of his dialogue, and his verbal characterizations. Senelick has also annotated the works to bring clarity for the general reader and has included variants of the plays. His translations infuse new life into such classics as The Cherry Orchard and Three Sisters....more

Community Reviews

Laurence Senelick's translation is fabulous and as the only person to have translated all of Anton Chekhov's works into English, he is an authority on the playwright. This is not the first time Dr. Senelick has translated Chekhov's plays, but it is his most recent edition. Speaking several languages, Senelick is in an excellent position to be a master translator and I think his translations are essential to any student of modern drama.

The only regret I have about the complete edition is that itLaurence Senelick's translation is fabulous and as the only person to have translated all of Anton Chekhov's works into English, he is an authority on the playwright. This is not the first time Dr. Senelick has translated Chekhov's plays, but it is his most recent edition. Speaking several languages, Senelick is in an excellent position to be a master translator and I think his translations are essential to any student of modern drama.

The only regret I have about the complete edition is that it lacks the critical essays, such as Bely's great essay, which Dr. Senelick includes in the shorter Norton critical edition of Chekhov's plays. Hence, it is worth referring to both editions....more

This is, by far, the best translation of Chekhov that I have read. It is also actually complete. Most editions have his major plays (Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya, The Seagull) and one other of a random assortment of lesser-know plays. While, like almost everyone, I have trouble at times keeping names straight , the characters are wonderful.

Don't skip the short "Vaudevilles." These short plays have some of the best character comedy.

They do mean complete! It includes sketches, initial drafts, variations, etc. along with commentary on each piece. I skimmed a lot of the "humorous dialogues" and such and focused on the main course--The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard. I cannot really comment on the translation other than to say I found it very readable. I enjoyed all, but I prefer his short stories.

I think this book will always be in the "currently reading" section since it's so massive and complete that I doubt I will ever read it completely. It contains pretty much every piece Chekhov ever wrote for the stage including lots of variations. That I will never read it completely is a testament to just how much is there.

It took me a long time to get through this collection, but what's fascinating about slogging through Chekhov's experiments, juvenilia, humor sketches, and miscellany is what enormous achievements The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard, an the long road it took for him to get there, artistically.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Russian: Антон Павлович Чехов) (Arabic: أنطون تشيخوف) was born in the small seaport of Taganrog, southern Russia, the son of a grocer. Chekhov's grandfather was a serf, who had bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught himself to read and write. Yevgenia Morozova, Chekhov's mother, was the daughter of a cloth merchant.

"When I think back on mAnton Pavlovich Chekhov (Russian: Антон Павлович Чехов) (Arabic: أنطون تشيخوف) was born in the small seaport of Taganrog, southern Russia, the son of a grocer. Chekhov's grandfather was a serf, who had bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught himself to read and write. Yevgenia Morozova, Chekhov's mother, was the daughter of a cloth merchant.

"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." His early years were shadowed by his father's tyranny, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, which was open from five in the morning till midnight. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog (1867-68) and Taganrog grammar school (1868-79). The family was forced to move to Moscow following his father's bankruptcy. At the age of 16, Chekhov became independent and remained for some time alone in his native town, supporting himself through private tutoring.

In 1879 Chekhov entered the Moscow University Medical School. While in the school, he began to publish hundreds of comic short stories to support himself and his mother, sisters and brothers. His publisher at this period was Nicholas Leikin, owner of the St. Petersburg journal Oskolki (splinters). His subjects were silly social situations, marital problems, farcical encounters between husbands, wives, mistresses, and lovers, whims of young women, of whom Chekhov had not much knowledge – the author was was shy with women even after his marriage. His works appeared in St. Petersburg daily papers, Peterburskaia gazeta from 1885, and Novoe vremia from 1886.

Chekhov's first novel, Nenunzhaya pobeda (1882), set in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Hungarian writer Mór Jókai. As a politician Jókai was also mocked for his ideological optimism. By 1886 Chekhov had gained a wide fame as a writer. His second full-length novel, The Shooting Party, was translated into English in 1926. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926).

Chekhov graduated in 1884, and practiced medicine until 1892. In 1886 Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him to become a regular contributor for the St. Petersburg daily Novoe vremya. His friendship with Suvorin ended in 1898 because of his objections to the anti-Dreyfus campaingn conducted by paper. But during these years Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgemental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion."

Chekhov's fist book of stories (1886) was a success, and gradually he became a full-time writer. The author's refusal to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intellitentsia and he was criticized for dealing with serious social and moral questions, but avoiding giving answers. However, he was defended by such leading writers as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.

The failure of his play The Wood Demon (1889) and problems with his novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890 he travelled across Siberia to remote prison island, Sakhalin. There he conducted a detailed census of some 10,000 convicts and settlers condemned to live their lives on that harsh island. Chekhov hoped to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. It is probable that hard conditions on the island also worsened his own physical condition. From this journey was born his famous travel book T...more